Do Work That You Love + Business Coach

Tips From A Business Coach: Write-Up Often and Fire Bad Hires Quickly

When an employee’s job performance is poor, there are really two possible business coach explanations for what is going on. Either the employee doesn’t know what to do or they are simply choosing not to do it. If the employee is choosing not to do what they know they are supposed to do, write them up. We have made a sample Employee Write-Up Form available for you at www.Thrive15.com/EmployeeWriteUpForm. To make sure everyone is on the same page, you should also use a point system that accompanies your Write-Up Policy. Essentially, if someone is late to work, they get this many points, and if they choose not to do their job, they get this many points. If they are caught stealing, they get this many points. If they don’t show up to work, they get this many points. Whenever they reach a certain point total, they will be fired. When you take the time to set up a business coach system like this, you take the emotion out of everything and you make the firing of someone a clear-cut issue. We have provided a sample Employee Write-Up Point System Document at www.Thrive15.com/Employee-Write-Up-Point-System. If you would like additional training on the proper way to fire employees, watch the Thrive15.com CEO’s training video on how to properly fire an employee at www.Thrive15.com/FiringEmployees.

The Inverted Pyramid of Leadership

Once you’ve sifted through the cesspool of job applicants and have found the right hire, it’s your job as the leader of your organization to provide your team members with the tools, resources, and culture they need to be successful at providing value to your ideal and likely buyers. I often tell people that as the B.O.S.S., you must make “Big Obstacles Seem Small.” Sometimes this means investing the time to sit down with a key employee to find out that they suffer from chronic back pain and need a desk that allows them to stand up while working in order to work for an 8-hour day. Sometimes it means you business coach a team member through a difficult divorce. I have personally coached team members through nearly every type of life situation and issue imaginable and I realize that this is just part of the job of being a leader of an organization.

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” -Theodore Roosevelt (American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as the 26th president of the United States)

The Compensation Game

Having worked with thousands of employers all over the world, I can tell you that one of the most frustrating and anxiety causing aspects of building a team is developing a fair compensation package. Most entrepreneurs will buy into either an A or B approach to compensation. Option A involves paying people as little as possible to do their jobs while Option B involves paying an employee whatever they ask in order to attract and keep the most talented people around. After years of first-hand experience and case study-driven research, I have found that neither option is the best.

Here is the best way to develop a fair compensation plan:

1. Cast a vision that is both inspiring and motivating to potential employees. People will rarely commit to staying in a workplace for very long if there is no clear and inspired vision for where the company is headed.
2. Determine what your candidates’ life and career goals are. Show them how a job in your organization can help them gain the skills and develop the connections they need to achieve their career goals.
3. Determine what the job market would currently pay someone with the skill sets you’re looking to employ. It’s important that you aren’t flying blind so when it is time, you can make a job offer that makes sense financially to both parties.
4. Determine what an employee’s key interests and passions are as they relate to ongoing projects in your workplace. If you can offer a candidate an opportunity to work on projects that really interest them, this can go a long way toward creating a win-win employee / employer relationship.
5. Determine what small details and benefits would greatly improve a prospective employee’s quality of life. Years ago, I worked with a doctor who paid his office manager’s day care fee and to have her deposits and dry cleaning picked up and dropped off so she could work the needed hours without feeling overwhelmed. I have personally provided employees with a car that they desperately needed or with housing until they could find a more permanent residence.
6. Determine what stretch goals and bonuses you can offer. If you can clearly explain to an employee that if they help your company achieve a particular goal then they will receive a specific reward, this often motivates people.
7. Explore the option of giving an employee equity once they have helped the company achieve certain goals. I would not offer this to just anyone, but it’s important that you consider this an option for qualified and key employees if you and the candidate cannot 100% agree on the compensation level.
8. Establish how the employee can earn freedom and autonomy over many aspects of their workday and projects. Some employees really want to be able to dress how they want and want the option to wear headphones while working. Although this may not fit your current culture, this may be a great incentive to help you land your next key hire.
9. Determine the actual amount of cash that you can sustainably afford to pay. It’s important that you know how much you can offer and that this number is clear in your head.

To download the Business Coach Checklist for Developing a Fair Compensation Plan for a Candidate, visit: www.Thrive15.com/DevelopingAFairCompensationPlanForACandidate

You Must Connect with People in Order to Both Hire and Inspire Them

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” -Steve Jobs

[1] Create Employee Write-Up Form

[2] Learn from a business coach about how to fire someone. Waiting until it is necessary will be too late.

[3] Develop a fair compensation package for each position in the company